The Marlboro democrat. [volume] (Bennettsville, S.C.) 1882-1908, 1887-05-11
----1 -----------
THE MAIDSTONE COMPETITION.

F.. - -. - q Ia : H 49, : = : =
10 dweil 1T any length upon the
youth ana early struggles Of Felix
Ilails,one would be both unnecessary
and an undressing act. AS the
writer OF fiction, tho volumlnous. untir-
ing, dull and mlddle-aged writer OF
fiction, Ne c%lainls, our attention; and
with the exception, therefore, OF some
Immediately following biographical
sentences, this narrative will he devo-
ted to Inn in that capacity.
Probably ms direct enemy could not
devise any more fatal gift for Il Young,
aspiring, andpromising author than the
sudden succession to half Il million Of
money; but in Mr.. lIailstone's case,
Tile unexpected possession Of a sum
but little smaller than that mentioned
proved no deadly stumbling block to
labor. .IIe was young at the time, and
aspiring, but not prOmising-far from
promiSing-and to him money meant
the sole likely or possible means Of ever
seeing his thoughts III any other gar
ment than that Of his own hand.writ-
ing. a magnificent incentive, there
fore, was our friends half-milllon. lie
loved the trade Of novelist, as no one
so indiGerently furnished for lt ever
did before, and from the days OF his
monetary prosperity, all that which
publishers hld refused to nublish. all
ttiIt WHEN udi ora ilaN ihuddcrol AZ
apptareli Din what {Qrin the author
pleased -alpd hcchoae tbs most naul.
some lQtnl lat his own expense. Hail.
Store lubbpu bindinGH With, AZ TIE
most .lloutiial wares n tl0 IMtrhet.
HueR IrNlNGft@neA as money COtlu buW
Felix bought. He interested himsslI
III literary companies, took editorshlps
OH decaylng journals, lost large sums,
and, finally, himself flOated an illus
tratcd monthly magazine after q scrome
Of lIisown evolution. The word "iloat.n
however, as having more than 4 sug-
geSlion or Duoyancy or specific light
ness about. must be deemed ill-clloscn
when treating OF any such periodical as
Inc Torch. The first number Of this
trlile would have anchored The Great
ISdsttfn IN 4 gale. IIailstone himself
contributed tWo-thlrds OF the initial
venture. which, tho handicapped, splut-
tered to the extent or Il threo.cOpy cir
culation and expired.
The ordinary railroad noYcl-with Il
sensational picture OF somebody doing
lOthlng on the OutSide-Was, for the
period or ten years, our authors main
method Of keeping himself before the
public, and his next undertaking OF
Importance appears to have beon a
society journal. Engaging for this u
literasy man who understood the dis.
tllDutlOn OF prize watches by coupon.
the value of puzzles, competitions, and
so forth matters which, III these DAYS
when everybody reads, are essential to
The existence Of q new social weekly
MIR. Hailstone produced, in winter time.
Oh paper we'll calculated to light fires
bis periodical. It ran till the weather
grew warmer, and Felix always reck-
oned tho effort among his successes.
win u bound we now come to the
days OF the Shockcr-tlle SHILLING
shocker. Our author gloried in this
now departure. lie burst upon the
public with flashes Of lightning on his
covers; he tempted the elect with insid-
lous titles and enigmatical pictures; le
crept into mems hearts by printing
every chapter Of his lucubratlons on
paper OF a different color; he displayed.
IN fine, o ingenuity than his best
friends had ever credited him With:
ana some won't SO far as to fortell that
he might yet gain the public ear.
In justice to Mfr. IIailstone we may
here say, once and for all. that lie had
admirers, though unfortunately Of q
class who discounted their approval
and admiration. He was a man of
wealth, be 1t remembered, and, as such.
gave q vast deal OF occupation TO that
large community of feeble folks who
spend their time in deyiaing methods
Tor creeping into rich mems pocknts
These people not only found good and
much Of moral instruction In Felix's
works, but generally took the liberty
OF mentioning it, together with other
Irrelevant facts. Some Of his readers
had large families. Maidstone discoy.
cred; some, only one arm; some d
stroke; one wrote with the water he
washed In because ink coulI. not be
purchased without money; one ad-
mlrer was not far from death, another
from starving. Our authors writing
ON m empty stomach, by the by, must,
humanity speaking, have meant d
or u mans life.
Mr.. Hailstone, however, was blessed
with common sense in large quantities.
a fact accounting IN some measure
possibly, for his lack Of success III tic-
ton. lie perfectly well know That lis
books were not largely read, and de-
termined to break new ground and
tempt fortune with something histori-
cGl. a novel the book should be in
nam6, and IN mama onlv In 5ooiJo1